A space where everyone is welcome to share about Ruston ~ small town America surrounded by urban Tacoma.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Cars, Trains & More

It's seems our town's namesake, William R. Rust, was not the only industrialist to carry the name to great heights. I'd previously heard about the Ruston steam engine, but there is more to the story - much, much more!

Colonel Joseph Ruston not only built a very successful company, his company helped build the city of Lincoln in the UK (sound familiar?). The company produced an early line of automobiles in addition to the train steam engines, and much more. Only two of the cars remain.

I received this wonderful email from Steve Wildman, who is with Siemens (who eventually acquired Ruston's company). Thanks for the contact, Mr. Wildman and the wonderful story. As Walt Disney says, its such a small world after all...

Colonel Ruston was something of a hero in
Lincoln, his company made many many things, the whole city is based on
his industrial success. Along the way he made 1300 cars (see the picture
of the production line attached) but his biggest export was industrial engines
along with a whole host of other things. You can get a lot of info from my
friends Ray Hooleys site www.oldengine.org members/Ruston. The
6MB pic attached is the team working on the restoration of our second car a 1923
model retrieved from Australia in the sixties.

During
World War 1 the factory made a lot of aircraft engines and complete
planes. Various pictures attached. when the war finished the company had
12,000 employees but little work since the government cancelled the plane
contract. They made furniture for the first month then turned their hand
to making cars 1919- 1923. We never made any money out of cars but they
kept the workforce employed and we soon returned to making diesel engines.
Picture of Ruston plane also attached.I
think his son (also Joseph Ruston was the Colonel though.)

Brief
overview pinched from Ray Hooleys site:

Joseph Ruston was born at Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, in 1835. His
father, Robert, farmed 600 acres (2.4sq km) and employed 28 men. On leaving
school, Joseph became an apprentice at the Sheffield cutlery firm of George
Wostenholme. He came out of his time 1856 with a good commercial training and a
modest inheritance from his father's estate. His enquiries for a suitable
business led to negotiations with Messrs Burton & Proctor of Lincoln. They
were in business as Millwrights and General Smiths, builders and repairers of
all manner of agricultural machines and implements.

Ruston, Burton Proctor

Burton and Proctor were known for the
quality of their work, but were in need of a good business head and more
capital, to enable them to engage in larger projects. This was an ideal
situation for the ambitious Joseph Ruston. An agreement was made in January 1857
and Ruston entered an equal partnership to be known as Ruston, Burton &
Proctor. Each partner was to receive a salary of £150 per annum, and profits
were to be shared equally. In addition, Ruston was to receive commissions of £4
for each steam engine and £1 for each thresher sold. He was to take charge of
the commercial side of the business.

Ruston Proctor Co.

Ruston immediately commenced a program
of expansion, spending money on land, new buildings and machines. He planned to
build engines for stock - an unheard-of practice! Burton strongly disagreed with
the lavish spending, saying that it would ruin them. Accordingly he left the
partnership on 18th July 1857.Ruston purchased his share for $855.
Within a few years the share was to become worth many times that amount. The
firm of Ruston & Proctor prospered and employed several hundred men by the
time Mr. Proctor retired in 1864. Joseph Ruston had established an
impressive network of overseas agencies, and the Company's portable and
stationary steam engines, threshing machines, elevators, corn mills, boilers,
pumps etc., were in heavy demand.

These products were constantly winning prizes
at exhibitions all over the world. Ruston adopted the motto: "My Customer is my
Best Friend". He insisted on a quality of product that pleased his customers.
They became his friends and recommended his products to their friends. Thus the
firm grew apace.Joseph Ruston was a super salesman by any standards.
He travelled to Russia in 1880 to negotiate a deal for steam engines and pumps
to drain 8 million acres (32,000sq km) of the Pripet Marshes. On the way back he
heard of large oil strikes at Baku. He immediately headed in that direction and
won large orders for oil-field equipment. A few years later Ruston persuaded a
group of Lancashire businessmen that a ship canal from Liverpool to Manchester
would be an economic viability if Ruston-built mechanical excavators were
employed. Orders for more than 70 Ruston Dunbar excavators were received.

Ruston Proctor Co. Ltd.

By 1889 Ruston Proctor & Co. were employing 1600 men,
being one of the largest engineering firms in the country. The product range
included traction engines, steam rollers, and locomotives, in addition to the
items already mentioned (see pictures below)

1885 Ruston Proctor 'Colonial' Traction Engine supplied
to Argentina

Ruston Proctor Steam Engine Erecting Shop, c.
1910

1885 Ruston Proctor Locomotive No 5: two were

supplied to the Kimberley Diamond Mine, South Africa, in
1881

Ruston and Hornsby eventually became Ruston Gas
Turbines which then through a series of mergers and
acquisitions finally became part of Siemens in 2006.

2 comments:

Anonymous
said...

The Mansion of our city's namesake, William R Rust, is located at 1001 North I Street, Tacoma Wa. The beautiful Home is about 5 miles (15 minutes) away from here. It's worth is over a million dollars and it's awesome.

Welcome!

Please enjoy your time reading about our town. Comments are encouraged and are monitored for civility and accuracy. Ad space is available - email karen.pickett.mba@gmail.com for more details. This is a community blog run by KWP Enterprises and not connected to Ruston government.

Upcoming Events

Council: Meets every 1st and 3rd Tuesday at 7pm at Joyce Community Center, 5219 N. Shirley Street.Planning Commission: Meets every 2nd and 4th Wednesday at 7pm at Joyce Community Center. Check window box in front of town hall for agenda and meeting cancellations.

Followers

Why we do what we do...

Ruston is only as strong as its informed citizenry. Information should be factual and timely ~ and opinions should be many. We hope to create a safe place where both factual information and varied opinions can be aired. Everyone is encouraged to join the conversation. Anyone can submit information or opinions for posting. Opinions expressed belong to individual authors.